Mauvais Rêve
by silkoversteel
Summary: Aerith doesn't let her fears run her life, but that doesn't mean she forgets what they are.


_Aerith was lying on something cold and hard. She sat up, curiously scanning her dim surroundings._

 _She grasped at her nightgown, the material much rougher than she remembered. She looked down at herself and saw not her nightgown, but an examination gown. What -_

 _A white light switched on and she shut her eyes against the brightness. When Aerith opened her eyes again, cold dread welled up in her chest as she registered the blue glass around her, and the white floors and -_

 _She was back in the labs._

 _She didn't know how or why, but there was no mistaking it. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. It was as if an invisible hand were squeezing her throat._

 _A blurry figure in a lab coat appeared behind the glass. His face was in shadow despite the bright light, but she could see the faint outline of glasses. Horror wound around her heart as she recognized who it was._

 _"You're not as good as your mother, but I haven't given up on you yet. Let's see how you handle this."_

 _The sound of that drawling, amused voice finally brought Aerith over the edge. She screamed and turned away from him, only to realize something black and smoky was forming in the middle of her cage. She ran toward the corner furthest away from it and started banging helplessly on the glass. Tears streamed down her face, her throat feeling raw from screaming and yet she couldn't stop. This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening, this wasn't -_

 _When her fists connected with the glass for the umpteenth time, she didn't merely shatter the glass, but the entire scene around her broke into pieces and fell away. She was alone again, surrounded by darkness. She stared around, breathing heavily, completely confused - where was she?_

 _"You have to keeping running, dear," said a familiar voice. Despite its soft tone, it echoed around her, making her ears ring._

 _"Mom?"_

 _"You have to go, dear."_

 _"But where? There's nothing here," Aerith said desperately._

 _"Just go. Run."_

 _She started to run forward, into nothingness. She ran and ran until -_

 _She collided with something and fell backwards, back onto the ground. She sat up, shaking her head slightly and gasped when she realized who she had bumped into._

 _It was Zack - but not Zack as she had known him. Most of his body was in shadow, his face was blank and expressionless. His eyes stared ahead, glowing brightly._

 _"Zack?"_

 _The hairs on the back of Aerith's neck stood up as he looked at her with that empty expression, as if he had been turned to stone._

 _"You have to help me, I don't know where I am and-"_

 _He turned from her then and started to glide away in the opposite direction._

 _"Zack? Can't you hear me? Zack!"_

 _Aerith got up and tried to grab him, but her hand went right through Zack as though he were a ghost. He disappeared not long after, leaving her alone again._

 _A loud, inhumane scream pierced through the air. She spun around, terror filling up her lungs when she saw it was from the thing that had been released in her cage. The edges of it glowed blue in the pitch blackness around her. Aerith backed away, shrieking when she bumped into something._

 _"Aerith, we have to go," said the unaltered appearance of Tseng, who had his hand around her forearm. She nodded and they ran together, away from the horrid monster._

 _There was a sudden bang that made Aerith jump - and the next thing she knew, Tseng had collapsed to the ground._

 _"Tseng?!"_

 _She kneeled beside him, turning him over - his face was now as blank as Zack's. He was -_

 _"No, you can't be - no!"_

 _The icy pain of grief overpowered her fear as she pulled Tseng's lifeless body into her arms. Tears spilled from her eyes again as sobs ripped from her throat. She barely registered the warm substance that was seeping into her gown._

 _"Don't leave me here - this can't be happening, no_ , no-"

"NOO!"

Aerith snapped awake, gasping for air, her nightgown sticking to her as her body was covered in cold sweat. She turned on her bedside lamp, glancing around at the familiar form of her bedroom. She was safe, it was just a dream, she was _home_ ….

And yet, she still felt that piercing chill in her veins. She trembled as she stood up, slowly making her way to the door. Aerith caught sight of her cell phone on her desk and paused. She shouldn't, it was a dream, he was _fine,_ she shouldn't bother him.

But she couldn't stop herself from picking up her phone and dialing Tseng's number - she just, she just had to make sure -

He picked up on the second ring.

"Aerith? Is everything alright?" Tseng answered, his voice low and soft. She probably had just woken him up, but she didn't care, because he was alive . She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Yeah, I just had this nightmare and wanted to make sure you were okay. I'm sorry I woke you up," she explained, as her heart rate finally started to settle down.

Tseng was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "I wasn't asleep, I'm watching television. Are you sure you're okay?"

It was almost soothing to hear his voice, but Aerith didn't want to disrupt him any longer.

"Yeah, I am now. I think I'll watch some TV too. I'll see you later," Aerith said, her voice returning to its usual light tone.

After a warm shower, Aerith sat in front of her television, wrapping a blanket around herself. It wasn't long before she made herself cozy against the couch cushions. By the time she fell asleep, all of her fears had receded into their box at the back of her mind, just where they were supposed to be.


End file.
